Wireless or Personal Communication Service (PCS) providers have been, until recently, able to store and maintain subscriber information and current location data on only one home location register (HLR). However, due to the escalating number of subscribers and the rapid expansion of the wireless (PCS) communications networks, it has become necessary to employ multiple home location registers to accommodate the growth.
By using multiple home location registers in the wireless communications network, it becomes necessary to devise a system and method to route the query messages and location updates to the proper home location register. One solution is to provide a database in the service control point (SCP) in the telecommunications network, which maintains routing information. However, a serious drawback with this solution is the additional traffic it may cause in the signaling system no. 7 (SS7) network by routing these additional queries from the mobile switching centers (MSCs) to the service transfer points (STPs) and then to the service control point. These queries add to the existing signaling traffic that accomplish toll-free calling, number portability, and other global title translation (GTT) queries to provide services such as line information database (LIDB) services, switch based services (SBS) such as certain Bellcore's CLASS.RTM. services, calling name (CNAM) delivery, and interswitch voice messaging (ISVM). Due to the anticipated large overall query volume, the SS7 link set between the service control point and signal transfer point becomes a troublesome bottleneck, creating a potentially substantial negative impact to the network's ability to route calls and provide services.
Accordingly, a need has arisen for a solution to the application location register routing problem for multiple home location registers. The teachings of U.S. Pat. No. 6,006,098 provides a system and method for application location register routing which addresses this problem. In one aspect, a method for application location register routing in a signal transfer point in a wireless telecommunications network is provided. The method includes the steps of receiving a query message requesting for information related to a specific mobile telecommunications customer, decoding the query message and obtaining a translation type and a global title address therefrom, looking up the translation type in a first database residing in the signal transfer point and determining a location of a second database residing in the signal transfer point for processing the query message. Thereafter, at least a predetermined portion of the global title address is used to look up, in the second database residing in the signal transfer point, to obtain a network address of a destination for processing the query message. The query message is then forwarded to a network node in the wireless telecommunications network specified by the network address.
In another aspect, a system for application location register routing in a wireless telecommunications network includes a first cluster of processors adapted for receiving a query message requesting for information related to a specific mobile telecommunications customer, a first database being accessible by the first cluster of processors and having location information of a second database, and a second cluster of processors co-located with the first cluster of processors and being adapted for receiving at least a portion of the query message from the first cluster of processors. The second cluster of processors is dedicated to process application location register routing. A second database is accessible by the second cluster of processor and stores network addresses specifying the destinations of the query messages. The second cluster of processors are adapted to obtaining the network addresses from the second database and forwarding the network address to the first cluster of processors.
In FIG. 1 of U.S. Pat. No. 6,006,098 a block diagram of a telecommunications network for wireless call delivery and services is shown. The telecommunications network is preferably constructed pursuant to the Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN) architecture. The telecommunications network includes a number of wireless service subscribers who are in communications with a base station (BS) via a number of land-based transmission towers and/or satellite-based wireless transponders. A base station may be coupled to at least one mobile switching center (MSC), which is further coupled to a network of mobile switching centers. Mobile switching centers are further coupled to a pair of signal transfer points (STPs) which each includes an application location register (ALR) subsystem. Signal transfer points and mobile switching centers may be coupled to a public switched telephone network.
The telecommunications network further includes service control points (SCPs) that may include multiple home location register (HLR) databases.
Service control points may be coupled to an authentication center (AC) database. A service management system (SMS) is coupled to service control points, authentication center, a service control point having a short message service center (SMSC) database, and an intelligent peripheral (IP). Short message service center may support voice mail, email, paging, and other services supported by the mobile telecommunications network. A user interface which may be a computer platform, workstation, or terminal, is coupled to service management system. A service creation environment (SCE) is coupled service management system, and also may utilize a user interface.
Service control points are coupled to signal transfer points via signaling system no. 7 (SS7) link sets, e.g. specified by the American National Standard Institute (ANSI). An SS7 link set may include up to sixteen 56 Kb/s links. Signal transfer points are further interconnected to mobile switching centers via SS7 link sets.
Signal transfer points may include global title translation (GTT) databases such as local number portability (LNP), line information (LIDB), switch based services, calling name (CNAM), and interswitch voice messaging (ISVM) databases containing routing data related to each service. In addition, when the wireless service provider requires the use of multiple home location registers, an application location register database is needed to identify the home location register that maintains a particular subscriber's service information.
A telecommunications service designer may design and implement a call service at service creation environment via user interface. The service logic and database schema may then be downloaded to service management system for distribution to other network components, such as intelligent peripheral, service control points, authentication center, etc. System management, maintenance and administration may be performed at service management system via a user interface.
In the telecommunications network, calls may originate from a non-wireless telephone customer to another non-wireless telephone customer, from a wireless telephone customer to another wireless telephone customer, from a non-wireless telephone customer to a wireless telephone customer, and vice versa.
In FIG. 2 of U.S. Pat. No. 6,006,098, a block diagram of a subsystem of signal transfer point with added database and processing units for application location register is shown. The signal transfer point includes a message transport network (MTN) backbone which provides communication between clusters of processors. One cluster of processors may perform administration, maintenance, and communication functions for system. Other clusters process SS7 signaling messages that are transmitted on SS7 link sets to signal transfer point. One SS7 cluster may be designated for local number portability, for example, which includes a transport node controller (TNC) coupled to common channel distributors (CCDs), a distributed SS7 services processor (DSS), and common channel links (CCLKs) via a network. A second SS7 cluster may be devoted to application location registration and may similarly include a transport node controller coupled to common channel distributors, a distributed SS7 services processor, and common channel links via a network. The system may include additional SS7 clusters for other global title translation processes or routing to processors within system, which may be similarly equipped with a transport node controller, common channel distributors, and common channel links, linked together by a network. It may be seen that transport node controllers, common channel distributors, and distributed SS7 services processors of each cluster are shown as processor pairs. The processor pairs may operate in standby or load sharing modes. The processors may also include fault tolerant multiprocessor engines with built-in redundancy.
Administration cluster also includes a transport node controller coupled to an administration processor, a traffic metering and measurement (TMM) processor, and an ethernet controller. Ethernet controller may be coupled to a user interface or workstation which is also coupled to service management system. Craft personnel may perform system maintenance and administrative functions via user interface and administration cluster.
The databases of the STPs are limited to determine the global title translation destination network address for the specified home location register or short message service center, or any other services associated with the mobile telecommunications subscription. Once the network address is obtained, it is returned to the common channel distributor to continue SCCP processing.